Lonicera Xylosteum seed

LATIN NAME: LONICERA XYLOSTEUM

COMMON NAME: European Fly Honeysuckle

The European fly honeysuckle twines the neat, upright stems with the paired, grey-green leaves and the small, cream-white flowers that open through the late spring, the twin red berries following in the autumn. The flowers are tubular and sweet-scented, the berries hang in the bright pairs, and the bush keeps the compact, rounded habit of the woodland edge. The foliage stays fresh through the summer, and the berries feed the birds into the winter. It likes the sun or the part shade, and the ordinary, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

In the woodland ecology, the European fly honeysuckle has a quiet, steady place. The botanists note the tubular flowers that open for the moths, and the ecologists track the way the twin berries are spread by the thrushes and the other birds. The studies of the mixed hedgerows count the bush among the useful understorey shrubs, and the woodland insects use it as the host plant through their life cycles.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the cool garden, the European fly honeysuckle holds the hedgerow together through the seasons. The scented flowers open through the late spring, the bright, twin berries feed the thrushes into the winter, and the dense, compact habit gives the useful cover of the woodland edge. It stands the clipping well and grows happily in the poor, ordinary ground. Easy, dependable and full of small services.

The European fly honeysuckle seeds need the cold spell before the sowing, so give them the winter outside or the month in the refrigerator. Sow them into the shallow tray of moist, gritty mix, cover them lightly, and keep the tray in the bright, cool spot. The seedlings push through in the spring, and they grow on steadily. Plant them out into the sun or the part shade, and the paired flowers and the red berries come within the few years. The bush takes the poor, ordinary ground without the fuss.

To grow the European fly honeysuckle from seed, sow the small, hard seeds thinly into the shallow tray of moist, gritty mix, then cover them lightly, keep the tray in the bright, cool spot and water gently. The seedlings show up within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. Keep the young shrubs in the open, ordinary ground, and the paired berries will twin the stems each autumn.